Diego Simeone, Atlético de Madrid's head coach, will bring Julián Álvarez back into the starting lineup this Wednesday. He praised the Argentine forward, saying he is "getting better and better" and has "begun to show all his unique qualities" ahead of the third matchday of the Champions League against Lille, a "brave" and "stylish" opponent. 

"Julián is improving day by day, he's feeling more comfortable in the city, with his teammates, the team, the group, and he's started to show what makes him different. He's the kind of player I have no doubt will do special things no matter where he plays," Simeone said in Tuesday's press conference, before facing the French team with the Argentine attacker, Antoine Griezmann, and Alexander Sorloth leading the attack.

Griezmann has reduced his match load after retiring from the French national team. "I believe Antoine has given France, his national team, all his talent, all his play, all his leadership; he won titles, managed to develop a style of play within the team that improved alongside his teammates and coach, and he was always a key player in his national team until he stepped away," he said.

"With us, it's been the same. He’s always been a very important player for us. Now, he won’t have those extra matches that usually add significant game load, and we hope to continue enjoying all the potential he has from our side," the coach added.

Lille will be the opponent. "It’s a team that plays very well. The results speak to the quality they have. They recently beat Madrid, they are competing very well in LaLiga; in the Champions League, they lost in Lisbon (against Sporting, 2-0, on the first matchday), but they have a good team, with players who, based on their coach's style, propose a bold, stylish, and very strong team game from their own area," he commented.

Simeone is mindful that "when you don’t play well and make mistakes in the collective effort, the team suffers," referring to their last Champions League match, a 4-0 loss to Benfica in Lisbon, which has placed Atlético under pressure, with three points out of six from two matchdays. 

"I’ve always been convinced and confident in what I was doing. I’ve been incredibly fortunate as a coach to have been accompanied by so many people in the coaching staff, some of whom are no longer with us but helped me a lot, and with a lot of players who have been with us over these 12 years, giving everything we proposed. Because of that, I feel lucky," he commented.